Creating Cologne: A Beginner's Guide To Fragrance Making

Creating your own cologne is a fun and rewarding process that allows you to express your creativity and develop a unique signature scent. While it may seem daunting at first, making your own cologne from scratch is actually quite simple and only requires a few basic ingredients and tools. In this guide, we will walk you through the steps to blend and bottle your very own custom cologne, covering everything from choosing the right essential oils to achieving the perfect fragrance load. So, are you ready to dive into the world of fragrance creation and unlock your inner perfumer?

Choosing a fragrance oil

The first step in making your own cologne is to choose a fragrance oil. You can use either essential oils or fragrance oils, and the difference between the two is that essential oils are natural oils obtained from plants, whereas fragrance oils are synthetic oils created using natural and man-made compounds.

When choosing which essential oils to blend into your cologne, keep in mind that different scents work well as head, heart, or base notes. Citrus scents like bergamot and grapefruit make good head notes as they are potent and assertive. Light and airy florals like jasmine, rose, and geranium work well as heart notes. Woody scents like cedarwood, sandalwood, and pine have longevity and work well as base notes.

You can also choose to use fragrance oils, which are synthetic but may be safer than natural essential oils (for example, poison ivy is natural but dangerous in certain concentrations). Fragrance oils also have the benefit of being less expensive than essential oils. However, if you want to know all of the ingredients in your fragrance, essential oils are a better choice as commercial fragrances are allowed to keep their formulas a trade secret.

When creating your cologne, you will likely be using a combination of head, heart, and base notes, so you will need to choose a few different fragrance oils. You can experiment with different combinations of oils and ratios to find a scent that you like.

In addition to choosing fragrance oils, you will also need to select a carrier oil such as jojoba or almond oil. The carrier oil will help to dilute the fragrance oils and make them safer for the skin.

Understanding the fragrance scale

When blending your cologne, it's important to understand the fragrance scale. The fragrance scale refers to the different notes of a fragrance: top, middle, and base. These notes work together to create the full body of the cologne.

Top notes, also known as head notes, are the first thing you smell when you spray a cologne. They evaporate quickly and form the first impression of the fragrance. Middle notes, or heart notes, appear once the top notes have dissipated. They are considered the main body of the fragrance and last longer than top notes. Base notes are the foundation of the fragrance and are the longest-lasting. They mix with the middle notes to create the full body of the cologne and are what you remember the most.

When creating your cologne, you will need to experiment with different ratios of these notes to find the perfect blend. One suggestion is to use a ratio of 20% base notes, 50% middle notes, and 30% top notes. However, you may need to adjust these ratios depending on the type of profile you are trying to create.

In addition to understanding the fragrance scale, it is also important to know the different fragrance families. The four main types are warm, woody, oriental, and fresh, each brought out by different combinations of fragrances. Fresh scents usually comprise citrus, water, and green notes, giving them a refreshing, zesty, and vibrant smell. Warm scents tend to use more florals and juicy fruit scents. Oriental fragrances are warm, sweet, and sometimes spicy, often made with notes of cardamom, cinnamon, and vanilla, along with floral notes like jasmine and orchid. Woody fragrances use wood-based smells like cedarwood, sandalwood, and amber, and are often favoured for evening wear.

Once you understand the fragrance scale and the different fragrance families, you can start to create your own unique cologne blends.

Selecting essential oils

Firstly, it is important to understand the fragrance scale, which consists of top, middle, and base notes. Top notes are the first scents detected, followed by middle notes, and finally, base notes, which provide the fragrance foundation. The ratio of these notes is crucial, with suggestions ranging from 20% base, 50% middle, and 30% top notes, to 60% base, 30% middle, and 10% top notes.

When selecting essential oils, it is recommended to choose a combination of top, middle, and base notes to create a well-structured cologne that will last longer and be more appealing. Examples of essential oils in each category include:

• Top notes: Sandalwood, geranium, lavender, neroli, magnolia, mandarin, wild orange, lemon, bergamot, Siberian fir, basil, lemongrass, and spearmint.
• Middle notes: Ylang-ylang, rose, lotus flower, jasmine, cardamom, vetiver, fennel, bergamot, cedarwood, clary sage, and cypress.
• Base notes: Tonka bean, violet leaf, vanilla, sandalwood, frankincense, balsam fir needle, myrrh, juniper, pine, and cedarwood.

Additionally, it is important to consider the aroma categories of essential oils to ensure they blend well together. Some examples of aroma categories include:

• Citrus aromas: Bergamot, orange, lime, and lemongrass.
• Herbal aromas: Fennel, spearmint, camphor, and clary sage.
• Spice aromas: Clove, black pepper, nutmeg, ginger, and cardamom.
• Woodland aromas: Cedarwood, juniper, eucalyptus, cypress, and pine.
• Floral aromas: Roman chamomile and neroli.
• Exotic aromas: Ylang-ylang, sandalwood, and vetiver.

When creating a masculine scent, it is recommended to choose essential oils with woodsy, earthy, spicy, or citrus notes. Examples of blends for men include:

• Wild orange, sandalwood, and frankincense.
• Lemon, cardamom, ylang-ylang, and vetiver.
• Lemongrass, basil, cedarwood, and Douglas fir.
• Bergamot, lemon, clove, and white fir.
• Lemongrass, copaiba, and frankincense.

Blending the oils

It's important to remember that not all scents will blend well together, and it may take some experimentation to find the perfect combination. Start by adding a few drops of each oil to a mixing container and see how they interact with each other. If one scent is much stronger than the rest, use less of it. As a general rule, it's recommended to use no more than 30 drops total when blending your oils.

When blending your oils, it's also important to consider the different fragrance notes. Top notes are the first thing you'll smell in a composition, but they're also the lightest and fade the fastest. Middle notes are the heart of the fragrance and are often the most prominent. Base notes bring the fragrance together and tend to linger the longest.

According to Matthew Milèo, a chemist and former in-house nose for Chanel, some base notes that blend well together include sandalwood, tonka bean, violet leaf, and vanilla. Middle notes that work well together include geranium, ylang-ylang, rose, and lotus flower. Top notes such as lavender, neroli, magnolia, and mandarin can add a fresh and uplifting touch to your cologne.

Once you've blended your oils, it's important to let the fragrance sit and mature. Chaz recommends letting the fragrance brew and sit for 48 hours, followed by refrigeration for two weeks. This allows the molecules to mix and the fragrance to develop.

After the fragrance has matured, it's time to dilute it. In a spray bottle, add two tablespoons of distilled water and five drops of glycerin. Then, slowly and carefully, swirl in your bespoke fragrance mixture. And just like that, you've created your own signature cologne!

Diluting the fragrance

Diluting your cologne is important for several reasons. Firstly, it makes the scent lighter and less overwhelming. Secondly, it can help to extend the longevity of your cologne by making it stick to your skin for longer. Additionally, diluting can make the cologne more suitable for use on the skin by reducing the concentration of essential oils.

When diluting your cologne, it is important to use distilled water rather than regular water, as regular water can cloud up your mixture. You should also avoid adding floral water or hydrolate, as this can affect the scent. Instead, perfumers' alcohol is a good choice for diluting as it helps to disperse the oils and make the scent more intense. However, be aware that alcohol can make the scent seem stronger due to its lifting effect.

If you are diluting a small amount of cologne, it is recommended to use a jewellery scale to measure your ingredients accurately. For a 10% dilution, you will need 90% of your diluent (such as alcohol or DPG) and 10% of your fragrance. For a 1% dilution, use 0.1g of fragrance and 9.9g of diluent.

Finally, remember that you don't need to dilute all your materials. Some materials are better used neat, especially when creating bases such as creams, detergents, candles, or soaps.

Frequently asked questions